Who we are

Fraher & Findlay is an award-winning, architect-led building expertise company, working with home and business owners, through a uniquely transparent and technology driven service.



Our History

Fraher Architects was founded in 2009 by Joe and Lizzie, delivering small scale and award winning residential projects throughout London. Since then, our practice has grown in size and project scope, with the aim of constantly improving areas of our expertise, and where possible, beyond those boundaries, toward even broader fields.

This has been achieved by consciously evolving our practice, and we've done this by placing learning, improving, and refining every aspect of what we do, at the very core of our business. This means being aware of opportunities as they arise, and being proactive in making positive change.
Most visibly, it is this philosophy that led to our joining forces with Findlay Construction. We took repeated learnings from over a decade of practice, and saw that our most excellent work was realised through close relations, with our most excellent construction partners. To improve further therefore, we took the opportunity to evolve, and created our design and build offering.

But it doesn't just stop there. Like evolution, the process is ongoing and underpins everything that we do, both internally and externally. From internal projects and experiments (where we burden the risks and share the rewards), to staff development and training, to client relations and project management, to finding future partners and associates that share in our plans, to learn, improve, and refine.

The Founders
  • Joe Fraher
    Managing Director
    Joe is the co-founder of Fraher Architects and Fraher and Findlay. He's an architect with a masters in environmental engineering as well as leader of our build teams. Joe works hard to ensure craftsmanship and quality of our build projects is of the highest level with an impeccable attention to detail. He's also super practical having worked on building sites since his teens. Architect and master builder effectively, with a keen interest in developing sustainable building systems.
  • Lizzie Fraher
    Design Director
    Lizzie is the co -founder of Fraher & Findlay, leading the team with all the studio's design work. Over 20 + years of working on sensitive buildings means that each project is addressed with a combination of care for the building as well as creativity.
    'I love connecting with Clients and digging into the detail of finding ways in which design can help solve problems and create dynamic spaces. A building's history is something that drives much of my design work'.
    Lizzie really believes that we all deserve better spaces and works hard to design amazing spaces that respond to people, the environment and their historical context.
    Lizzie works across multiple media platforms including the BBC and Your Home Made Perfect.

Passive House Designers + Builders

We have Passive House qualified Designers as well as Contractors in the studio. We use this specialist knowledge to ensure that all of our projects; either retrofit or new build, are designed and built towards the principle of 'Passivhaus.'

'Passivhaus,' refers to buildings created to rigorous energy efficient design standards so that they maintain an almost constant temperature.

Passivhaus buildings are so well constructed, insulated and ventilated that they retain heat from the sun and the activities of their occupants, requiring very little additional heating or cooling.

You can retrofit older properties so that they function along the same principles, although it's not usually possible to reach the same levels of insulation as a specially designed property.

The EnerPHit standard recognises this and sets the required performance at a lower level than Passivhaus to accommodate working with existing buildings.


Design Team
  • James Henderson
    Senior Architect
    James come with a background in environmentally conscious architecture, having spent 15 years integrating energy efficient methods, like Passivhaus, into new homes.vOn the design side, James work with texture and natural materials and use straightforward construction techniques and processes.

    ' I get my job satisfaction from seeing clients embrace their new homes, but before that, I'll be as excited spiralling deep into design ideas and scribbling details over the walls.'
  • Maija Korpak
    Senior Designer
    Maija graduated from Interior Architecture and Furniture Design from UIAH (Univ. Art & Design, Helsinki, Finland). Maija enjoys working across all the stages of our projects from the concept to the detail and on site. Maija has a particular interest in energy efficient & sustainable intervention within existing building fabric.
    Maija's designs are influenced by what she sees, feels, makes, and what others see, feel and make.
  • Laszlo Czilli
    Project Architect
    Laszlo obtained his Master's degree at the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca and since worked in several countries finally falling in love with the high end residential architecture in the United Kingdom where he has over seven years of experience..

    His previous experiences cover working with grade 1 historical buildings, Passive Houses and EnerPhits, optimizing cost/benefits and working closely with construction companies to obtain the best possible results.

    He is devoted to each project he is working on and deeply cares about all parties involved in the process of translating a dream into bricks, pipes, tiles and attention.
  • Justyna Krol
    Project Architect
    Justyna is a qualified architect as well as a certified passive house designer, studying in both Poland and at the University of Bath.

    She has experience in small residential and large scale cultural projects as well as project management, which taught her that working collaboratively with builders and craftspeople is key to the creation of good architecture.

    She mainly loves working on residential projects and creating a client's dream home and is passionate about sustainability, low energy construction and creating spaces that make people happy.
  • Charles Khai
    Architectural Assistant Part II
    Charles joined the practice after completing his masters degree at UWE Bristol. With a diverse range of project experience, including residential and commercial developments, he brings a versatile skill set to the team. He is passionate about his role, where he is actively involved in the development of our residential schemes. He looks forward to further cultivating his architectural knowledge and skills with us, and he hopes to complete his Part 3 in the near future.
  • Richard Townshend
    Architectural Assistant Part II
    Richard has been interested in architecture and building since childhood and has an MSc in Sustainable Urbanism from UCL. He has experience in residential and set design as well as listed buildings and has joined Fraher & Findlay to continue his Architectural qualifications. His passions lie in environmental design, the process of construction and how everyday life plays out within buildings.
  • Jessica Young
    Architectural Assistant Part I
  • Isabelle Middleton
    Architectural Assistant Part I
Joinery Team
  • Jack Cockle
    Joinery Designer & CAM Technician
    Jack studied Sustainable Product Design at Falmoth University and has an MSc in Industrial Digitalisation from Manchester Metropolitan University. He is a passionate designer who uses CNC (Computer Numerical Control) technology to bring his architectural joinery designs into reality, helping the company to deliver bespoke products efficiently. He enjoys creative problem solving, and strives to promote sustainability within design as much as possible, recognising its importance within industry and construction.
  • Jhon Rodriguez
    Maker
  • Francis Bakadika
    Maker
  • Paul Dunstane
    Maker
Build and Beyond Team
  • Gem Merritt
    Project Manager
    Gem runs our in house construction projects ensuring that the build teams deliver to programme and within budget. Gem works closely with Dawid and Joe to keep our Clients up to date on the project every step of the way. There isn't a tap or tile in London that she doesn't know how to get hold of!
  • Dawid Marciocha
    Construction Manager
    Dawid's background is in Structural Engineering and he has been working on our building sites co-ordinating teams and overseeing the construction details for a number of years now. It is a fine art seeing the detail ahead of when it needs to be executed, helping to compose the construction detailing along the way. Dawid works closely with our Architects as well as the site teams.
  • Mary Spencer
    Accounts Assistant
    Mary is our accounts guru. Construction is a complex numbers process and Mary helps us navigate our ship - whether it is with respect to invoices, purchasing and management of the books.
  • Amar Chekchak
    Studio Coordinator
  • Asia Jiminez
    Procurement & Bookkeeping Assistant
The Directors
  • Philippa Trant
    Operations Director
    Philippa Trant heads up all of our business operations within the company. After spending 10+ years in Business Consulting, Philippa was super keen to trade in her city shoes for her rigger boots, back to her family roots in Construction.
    Philippa leads the team in the day to day management of processes, systems and communications; with a clear goal to deliver our large projects on time and against budget.
  • Deborah Findlay
    Finance Director
    Deborah is our Finance Director. She is a Chartered Accountant with a wide range of commercial experience. With her small team she ensures the finance operations run smoothly. Deborah loves being part of the Fraher & Findlay team; helping them deliver creative and innovative projects to clients
  • James Robertson
    Chairman

What makes us unique

Chartered
We're one of very few RIBA Chartered design and build companies in the country.
Capability
We are a design & build company that can actively deal with challenging design briefs and projects in complex planning environments.
Care
We're developing own technology platform, in order to help streamline project processes, and improve our aftercare offer.
Creativity
We're creative, with a strong delivery record, and plenty of recognition to prove it...
Mews House
Awards
2022
New London Architecture – Non Boxy Lofty – Winner
2021
New London Architecture – Ghost Houses – Shortlisted
2020
New London Architecture – Don't Move Improve 2020 – The Courtyard House – Exhibited
2019
AJ Retrofit Awards – The Signal House – Winner
2018
AJ Retrofit Awards – The Etch House – Shortlisted
2018
New London Awards – Spiritland – Winner (Retail)
2018
New London Architecture – Don't Move Improve 2018 – The Etch House – Runner Up
2017
New London Architecture – Don't Move Improve 2017 – Lambeth Marsh House – Longlisted
2016
New London Architecture – Don't Move Improve 2016 – The Lantern – Shortlisted
2016
New London Architecture – Don't Move Improve 2016 – Cooks Kitchen – Longlisted
2014
AJ Small Project Award 2014 – The Green Studio – Shortlisted
2014
AJ Sustainability Award 2014 – The Green Studio – Shortlisted
2014
Australian Living Green Interior Award – Quality Chop Shop – Shortlisted
2013
New London Architecture: Don't Move Improve 2013 – The Garden Kitchen – Shortlisted
2012
New London Architecture: Don't Move Improve 2011/2012 – The Jewel Box – Runner Up
2011
International Design Competition – Albany Works – Winner
2011
AJ: Small Projects Award – The Jewel Box – Shortlisted